baton-rouge-to-venice

Mile 194.8 RBD — Nottaway Plantation

John Ruskey

26 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

Nottaway is the largest and most grandiose of all the Louisiana Plantations, and might make a good excuse for a stop to stretch your legs. Rocky landing in low water, but excellent views of the river and Bayou Goula Island from the levee. Looking inland a sea of sugar cane surrounds the bony white plantation. Morning glories crowd the grasses on levee (also a bright red morning glory-like flower called cypress vine) and elephant ears populate the wetlands below. You might be able to refill waterbottles here. Paddlers can access Nottaway Plantation via the gravel and rock steamboat landing on the river just above the base of Bayou Goula Island on the West bank at 194.8 RBD. Accommodations are offered at Nottoway, and would make a striking counterpoint to the rustic camping you have been doing to date down the river. Be ready to spend upwards of $200/night for the luxury. Nottoway Plantation & Resort, 31025 LA-1, White Castle, LA 70788. www.nottoway.com. 225-545-2730.

More from this section

Mile 19.0 RBD — Fort Jackson Beach

Best camping along this stretch of river in low/med water, up to 10NO. The levee falls back and the batture becomes wider around Jackson Point, allowing for the return of natural shorelines and good camping for one mile from 19.5 to 18.5 RBD. It is so rare

Mile 22.0 LBD — Bolivar Point

Low/medium water camping, up to 12NO, underwater above that. Best camping is found on the first sandbars located close to main channel on East Bank as you pass mile marker sign 22LBD. This is a beautiful location, with the river making a right angle turn, freighters proudly plowing by,

Mile 23.5 LBD — Neptune Pass

Three openings in rip-rap allow quick exit from storms, waves and wind, and high banks behind might make for good camping. There are three openings around the Neptune Light on the East Bank between 24 and 23 LBD. Paddlers could quickly exit the main channel through any of these small

Mile 29.5 LBD — Point Pleasant

Good low/med water camping on grassy shelves. Paddlers will find several miles of natural wild shoreline below Point Pleasant on the East Bank, from 28 - 31 LBD. If you seek a campsite, stop at the first good-looking place you find. Further down the campsites are corrupted by noise

Mile 33.0 RBD — Sixty-Mile Point

Low water only. Natural wild shoreline with possible low-water camping and picnicking, but shallow approach. Watch for tides and waves from passing ships. Partially due to the bend of the river here, and partially due to the Nairn 1973 Flood Crisis, a widening of the batture is found on the

Mile 60.0 LBD — Poverty Point

Possible low bar in low water, but not reliable campsite, goes under above 5NO. Poverty Point makes for a good picnic site in low/med waters, fine for light weight canoes, kayaks or paddleboards, but could prove to be a difficult shallow bank for any larger vessels. Just below the